A little dash of this, A little dash of that…

August 25th, 2010

[cincopa 10726340]

{ disclosure : received a box of PomiChopped Tomatoes and Pomi Strained Tomatoes to sample }

Added to our cooking skills this summer was homemade fresh marinara sauce. The toddler and I have become obsessed with making our own sauce. Since we discovered the relative simplicity of the recipe, its been a fun Mommy and Me activity. To round out the adventure, I’ve included every step of the process the toddler can be involved in including cultivating her very own herb garden. Okay, its more like Mommy’s herb garden since it only has my two favorite herbs, sweet Italian basil and golden sage (a nod to my other food obsession, butternut squash raviolis with brown butter sage). We attempted them from seeds but since Mommy doesn’t exactly have a green nurturing thumb, we had to resort to purchased seedlings from our neighborhood garden nursery to ensure it’s survival. So far it has survived and then some… and boy do they yield fragrant and delicious herbs!

When Pomi approached me to try their line of BPA free tomato products, the toddler and I had visions of an Italian feast. Grown in Italy without the use of pesticides or genetically modified seeds, they are packaged in a BPA free box without preservatives, citric acid, or additives bringing moms high quality tomatoes with a garden fresh taste for their kids. Because we like a chunkier, more homemade look to our sauce we blended both the chopped and strained tomatoes for a thicker sauce.

The toddler ran out to her garden to pick fresh basil leaves while I peel garlic cloves and heated up the olive oil. While she washed the basil leaves and carrot sticks, I sauteed the garlic until it was tender and golden. We eagerly opened up both boxes of Pomi tomatoes , note to self — next time a larger opening for the chopped tomatoes — and into our favorite red pot they went. Bright red and no sign of oxidation, it smelled divine! A quick chop of the carrots, the toddler pushed the magic button until it was the right consistency, adding just the right sweetness to balance the acidity of the tomatoes. 30 minutes later, we had a delicious sauce begging to be devoured and devoured it was because I didn’t even have time to take a picture of the finished product! All in all this mom was happy to find a BPA free tomato product finally!

Pomi is available nationwide in stores such as Whole Foods, A&P, Waldbaum’s and Food Emporium in three (26.46 oz) boxed varieties: Strained Tomatoes, Chopped Tomatoes and Marinara Sauce. Once opened the package will stay fresh for 10 days under refrigeration, but I’m not sure any will be left for refrigeration with my family. But for such instances, my only qualm would be that it’s missing a resealable cap seen on other aseptic packaging.

Related

Sharing

Suzanne is student, daughter, wife, (labor & delivery) certified registered nurse, certified lactation counselor, friend, entrepreneur and blogger – but the job she's most proud of is mother… She shares her journey on this blog and The Disney Files.
Read more about her here.